Friday, November 15, 2013

On
Nov 13, 18 year-old Israeli Army private Eden Atias was seated on a bus that
had just parked in the central bus station of Afula, a city in Israel’s north.

16-year-old
Palestinian Hussein Jawadra, who had been seated next to Atias, took out a
knife and stabbed Atias repeatedly in the neck.

Private Edan Atias was sleeping in his seat on a bus at a bus station in Afula, where I used to pass through frequently when I was in the army, when a Palestinian youth stabbed him to death.

There
were dozens of instances during my IDF service when I would find myself seated
on a bus in the Afula bus station next to a Arab teenage boy and carelessly let
myself catch up on much-needed sleep.

It’s
just plain painful to think that every time I leaned my head against the bus
window and closed my eyes while seated next to an Arab I was making a potentially
fatal mistake.

But
what’s more painful for myself and millions of other Israelis like me is that
we feel completely powerless to deter future attacks like the one on Private
Atias.

Israel
has no death penalty, not even for terrorists who commit the most heinous
crimes. It’s no secret to Israelis or Palestinians that those same terrorists
in Israeli prisons have suitable living conditions, recreational activities,
and academic opportunities, all funded by Israeli tax money.

Such
is the case of Samir Kuntar, a Lebanese national who murdered an Israeli family
of four in 1979 and was returned to Lebanon as part of a prisoner exchange in
2008. While in Israeli prison, Kuntar was permitted to marry an Israeli Arab
woman, who then received a monthly stipend from the Israeli government as the
wife of a prisoner, and he was able to complete a bachelor’s degree in
political science by distance learning.

The
16 year-old Palestinian boy who murdered Atias will likely have the opportunity
to finish high school, earn a university degree, and enjoy playing ping-pong
and soccer with other Palestinians at his convenience.

There
is a strong chance that he will, like Kuntar, walk out of prison one day a free
man and return to his community a hero. Israel’s political leadership has freed
hundreds of convicted Palestinian murderers this year alone as a gesture to the
Palestinian Authority to advance peace talks. The last prisoner release
occurred on October 30th and freed 26 Palestinians, most of whom had blood on
their hands. Two more releases are scheduled for the coming months. According
to Palestinian law, every prisoner released by Israel is entitled to a lifetime
government stipend and a hero’s welcome.

We
Israelis wonder, how can the murder of our countrymen be prevented if there are
no consequences for the murderers? Why should our government continue to make
these gestures to the Palestinians while their government rewards these
murderers as heroes?

The
Palestinian Authority has not publicly condemned the murder of Private Atias. Instead
the Palestinian Authority offers more incitement against Jews and Israelis. The
Times of Israel reports the Palestinian Authority’s Religious Endowments
Minister Mahmoud Habbash claimed on official Palestinian television that both
late Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and the Prophet Muhammad
were murdered in sinister ways by “the Jews.”

Israelis
support peace talks with the Palestinians if they are conducted in good faith
and make our lives safer. Unfortunately every time the Israeli government gets
entrenched in peace talks. all we
see is more Palestinian incitement and a rise in attacks on people like
PrivateAtias. This sends a
dangerous message to Israelis: if peace talks are underway our blood is cheap.

Peace
talks will not succeed if more Israelis like Private Atias are murdered while
they sit on public buses. The Israeli government must step up security while
peace talks are held and, together with the international community, demand the
Palestinian Authority end incitement against Jews and Israelis.

Without
these measures, Israelis like me will continue to believe that peace is nothing
more than a pipe dream.

About Me!

My name is Michael Bassin and I am not a spy. Despite my insistence, people continue to be suspicious of me. Syrian border policemen, Emirati sheikhs, Kurdish businessmen, Israeli army officers, African warlords, and women I meet at bars with way too much imagination are fairly convinced I'm not who I say I am.

In reality, I am an international business development professional and writer based in Tel Aviv. A former columnist on Arab affairs for the Times of Israel newspaper, I have traveled to over sixty countries and written extensively on my experiences.

I am the author of the book "I Am Not A Spy: An American Jew's Odyssey Through The Arab World & Israeli Army." The book chronicles my life as an openly Jewish student living and traveling in the Arab world and serving in the Israeli army as a combat Arabic translator in the West Bank.